Not less than 23 young women who had sought to terminate unwanted pregnancies have reportedly died after they allegedly drank a herbal concoction for abortion in the house of a native doctor at Ugborikoko, Uvwie local government area of Delta State.

The deaths were recorded over a period of six months.

The state police commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba who confirmed the incident said the herbalist home was discovered by police detectives in the area who acting on a tip-off, swooped on the home where they recovered fetish materials and arrested suspects.

He explained that the arrested operators of the herbal home were found to be native doctors and quack nurses who upon interrogation, confessed to the crime.

The suspects were said to have claimed that they were trained in traditional medicine especially in the use of concoctions to terminate pregnancies.

According to Aduba, one of their victims, a 22-year-old house help identified as Endurance, recently died as a result of the abortion she had performed at the herbal home.

He said Endurance took ill and was rushed back to the quack home where she died as a result of the complications.